Embargoed until 0001 Central European Time 21st

October 2015

We, signatories to this Statement, recognize that the proliferation of differing codes, audits, protocols and

approaches are hampering the improvement of social and labor performance within global supply chains. We

believe that there is both a need and an opportunity for collaboration. Our common goal is to drive opportunities

for harmonization and convergence in social auditing, as a means to improve social performance in global supply

chains. We call on others to join us.

Since the rise of social auditing in the apparel and footwear supply chain more than twenty years ago, we have

seen the number of social audit standards and methods increase dramatically, some with only minor differences.

With brands and retailers each applying their own slightly different standar ds, manufacturers are allocating

valuable resources to manage a steady stream of audits . In addition to contributing to “audit fatigue,” this

duplication reduces the value of audits and consumes resources that could otherwise be applied to making

improvements.

Some initiatives have recently highlighted the need for broader acceptance of shared assessment approaches and

methods. Many voices from government, industry, and non-profit organizations are call ing for a convergence of

social and labor auditing practices in the supply chain.

We, the signatories, understand that the solutions to these problems will require close co-operation between all

tiers of the supply chain, as well as with multi -stakeholder initiatives that have developed assessment tools and methods. We call for collaboration among these actors to reach a common social assessment standard, method or tool for social and labor performance measurement in apparel and footwear supply chains . We believe that this effort could later be applied to other industries.

A new dialogue will enable the industry to:

- Enhance transparency while dramatically reducing the number of social and labor assessments in our

industry; - Shift financial resources away from assessment to performance improvement; - Accelerate a race to the top in social impacts within apparel and footwear manufacturing countries .

The collaboration will work under the umbrella of the “Social and Labor Convergence Project”, facil itated by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. The SAC is committed to facil itate this project in an equal partnership approach by

bringing together all segments of the value chain, including manufacturers, brands, retailers, non-governmental organization, workers unions, government representation , auditing firms and all relevant stakeholders, and by working with other multi -stakeholder initiatives which have developed assessment tools and methods.

We, the signatories, acknowledge that convergence is a critical enabler for increasing transparency and improving

working conditions in global supply chains. We are committed to this goal and will focus the next six months to

clarify the scope, desired outcomes and success criteria for this collaboration.

We urge others to enter into our collaboration with us – and hasten the transition to harmonization, convergence

in social auditing across the apparel and footwear supply chain.

Organizations that would be interested to participate in this initiative should contact

baptiste@apparelcoalition.org.

Brands / Retailer.

o adidas o Asics o Bestseller o Burton

o Columbia Sportswear Co. o Gap Inc. o H&M o IC Group

o Inditex o Levi Strauss & Co. o MEC

o Nike o Patagonia o Puma o PVH Corp.

o REI o Target o VFc- Timberland

Manufacturers

o Avery Dennison o W.L. Gore & Associates, Fabrics Division

o Hanbo o L&E International , Ltd.

Organization – NGO

o European Outdoor Group (EOG) o International Apparel Federation (IAF) o IDH

o Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) o Sedex o Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC)

o Solidaridad o Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP)

Auditing Firm :

o Bureau Veritas o Control Union o SGS